Energrow Providing Soybean Innovation On-Farm

Sep 13, 2012

Providing Innovative Solutions and Freedom for Dairy Farmers

Soybean innovation for your farm – Energrow Inc. designs and manufactures oilseed pressing system equipment which provides “feed, fuel and freedom” for your farm. Energrow seeks to provide farmers with added value to their own crops. Energrow is just one of the many examples of innovative value-added products showcased at this year’s Canada Outdoor Farm Show.

The story of how Energrow came about is inspiring. About seven years ago, Jasmin Hofer the current owner and general manager of Energrow was a student of business at the University of Waterloo and came up with an idea of how to become more efficient on the farm. Hofer, having grown up on a dairy farm just outside of Stratford, Ontario discovered that one of the biggest challenges on her farm and many other farms are the fluctuating costs of feed for their dairy herd. Alongside her father, Hofer developed a farm size oilseed crushing press. The press gives farmers more autonomy over their fuel and animal feed costs, while adding to their bottom line. The Energrow product is all about giving the farmer more control over their business and providing added value to their farm .

Key features of Energrow:

•Liability factor – its user friendly and it runs safely without supervision
•Efficient – operation costs (electrical) are low at only $5 per tonne of soybeans
•Value added – gives control to the farmer over fuel and feed costs

While Energrow is still fairly new, it has had its fair share of success. The following are some of the award highlights:

•Jasmin Hofer CEO of Energrow Inc. won Women of the Year in Agriculture (2010)
•Young Entrepreneur Award (2010)
•President’s Award for Industrial Innovation (2009)
•Canadian International Farm Show Producer of the Year (2009)

The average cost of an Energrow system is $30,000 and if you have a herd size of 75 milking cows it will pay for itself in about three years. Their website also provides some financing options, including some grant programs that farmers in both the U.S. and Canada might be able to access. If you are a dairy farmer looking for more freedom on your farm and want to become more sustainable - Energrow might be just what you are looking for.

For more information about Energrow can be found at http://www.energrow.ca/

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.